Hurricane Sandy and Public Transportation in New York City

Residents of New York City are more dependent on their mass transit system than residents of any other city in the United States. Hurricane Sandy has caused the subway and other forms of public transportation in New York to come to a grinding halt. To understand how much of an impact this has on New York City residents one need only examine data from the American Community Survey (ACS). According to the ACS the fraction of households that do not have access to a vehicle are:

7.6% of households outside of New York City

77.9% of households in Manhattan

59.1% of households in the Bronx

56.8% of households in Brooklyn

36.8% of households in Queens

15.7% of households in Staten Island

Manhattan residents are ten times more dependent on public transportation than are people who live elsewhere in the U.S. Residents of the Bronx and Brooklyn are eight times more dependent on mass transit than the typical American. Until the MTA, bus and subway systems are up and running, residents of New York will be stranded. Those of us who live elsewhere can only imagine what a huge challenge this presents for people who live and work in New York City.

Note: The ACS considers a household to have access to a vehicle if a passenger car, van and panel or pick-up truck is kept at home and available for members of the household.